Breaking: EUR/USD hits fresh highs as German Preliminary Manufacturing PMI beats estimates with 45.2

• German Manufacturing PMI arrives at 45.2 in January vs. 44.5 expected.
• German Services PMI stands at 54.2 in January vs. 52.9 expected.

The German manufacturing sector contraction slowed more than expected in January, the preliminary manufacturing activity report from IHS/Markit research showed this Friday.

The German Manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) arrived at 45.2 versus 44.5 expected and 43.7 previous, hitting a new eleven-month high.

Meanwhile, Services PMI hit a five-month high level of 54.2 in Jan as against previous months reading of 52.9 and 53.0 anticipated.

The IHS Markit Flash Germany Composite Output Index jumped to a five-month high of 51.1 in January at 49.4 vs. 50.5 expectations. 

Key comments from Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit:

“A number of positive takeaways from January’s flash PMI survey suggest the storm clouds over the German economy may be starting to clear. The drag from the downturn in manufacturing continues to ease as the sector moves closer to stabilization, while the services economy is back growing at a robust pace.”

“Demand has started to firm up a little both at home and abroad, which is reflected in a first rise in new business for seven months. With confidence starting to return, businesses are reporting clients steadily loosening the purse strings.”

FX Implications:

On the upbeat German PMI numbers, the EUR/USD pair jumped nearly 10-pips and reached fresh daily highs of 1.1061.

EUR/USD Technical levels to watch: